Oedipus Rex - A Twist
by BiteMeBro522
Summary: Literally what the title suggests. I mean, have you ever wondered what would've happened if Oedipus didn't kill Laius? This is my take.


**Just a little something I did for school. Decided to post. *shrugs* There's a "dictionary" at the bottom for Greek things you may or may not know. Enjoy!**

 **Oedipus Rex – A Twist**

His feet burned. So many days, so many nights he has travelled. First he sought to find facts, then to ensure that those facts never came to pass. Those facts, terrible facts, swam in a horrible mantra in his head. _"Destined to kill his father and to become his own mother's husband."_ That was the prophecy. How could he, Oedipus, son of King Polybus, kill his own father, who raised him in such a noble way, and marry his mother, who was gentle in every way? How could he do such _evil_.

Lost in his own head, and too focused on the anger brewing in his breast, Oedipus did not hear the sound of a carriage coming from the Southwest, which was about to meet him at the place where three paths meet, until he lifted his eyes from his heated gaze at the ground.

"Remove yourself, stranger. Make way for our master!" Exclaimed one of six strong men one other man who sat on a wooden cart, his face masked with the shadow of his cloak, and two white speckled horses at the helm. Excuse me, no, it was just five; the last was merely a servant, no more than a footman. Lanky and gangly, and no more than a boy.

"Why should I? Was it not I who arrived at this meeting of paths first?" Oedipus declared. _What and who did this cretin think he was?_ _He_ _couldn't_ _have_ _been of royalty, not_ _that_ _his clothing and transportation could speak of,_ Oedipus thought indignantly. After such a time he's had, he was beyond angry. Hearing the glimpse into his future, wrought him with anger, fear, and pain. And he was certainly in to position to be calm in such circumstances as this.

Perhaps if he had been thinking clearly, he would have noticed his anger blossoming from his chest and into his extremities, clouding his better judgement in a bitter red haze, and hands curled and twitching towards his hip, where his sword hung faithfully.

"Make way for the King of Thebes! Laius, son of Labdacus, son of Polydorus. Long live the king." Oedipus's surprise brought his unchecked fuming off it's tracks, so he relaxed his stance and let his hand fall from the handle of his sword as the hooded figure straightened from his slouched position, taking on a posture that showed a royal upbringing and demanded your respect.

"Forgive me, I'm not always so uncouth; but I've been given a rather... disturbing word from the Oracle. And was unaware of who I was in the presence of, due to such modest attire. I beg your forgiveness." Oedipus finished, bowing low. There was a tense silence as the king made the next move.

King Laius paused before stepping off the carriage to stand in front of the still-bowing stranger before placing his hand on his shoulder. "Go, where ever your feet take you. May your troubles wane, and your heart be soothed. Be at peace." He said.

Oedipus numbly stood, then continued on his way with much hesitation; never before had he heard of a king being so humble and kind. Even his own father, good and just is he, would never allow such disrespect and ignorance to go unchecked in the face of royalty, even during a pilgrimage. He had seen it happen before with his very own eyes.

Unable to resist, Oedipus glanced over his shoulder back to the carriage and the strange king, and met the gaze of King Laius and he prepared to climb aboard his ride again. Dipping his head in well-wishing, his Majesty proceeded to climb into his seat and ordered his men onward, replacing his hood to shadow his face. Oedipus turned to face his front and continued his journey, his thoughts of the king a welcomed distraction from his previous worries.

Laius mused on the stranger as he swayed in time with the carriage as it moved. Normally he would never have let anyone get away with such ignorance, but the man was troubled, and it was an honest mistake; and an honest mistake for what seemed like an honest man. Plus, there was something about the wandering soul that caused him great curiosity. Perhaps it was his noble actions or his said honesty, or maybe his warrior's spirit or humility, the king couldn't be sure. But what the King of Thebes was absolutely certain of, was that he would see his face again soon enough.

 **~O~ Time Skip ~O~**

 ****Gross/dark scenes ahead****

Many weeks have gone by since his run-in with the king, and Oedipus was headed to Thebes. He had already passed the city once before, but bypassed it because he could not bear the resemblance it held to Corinth. In fact, he would not have bothered to come at all, but he had ran out of food a few days ago, and out of water the day before, and would not make the trek to the next town over. As Oedipus climbed the last hill in his way, he gasped at the sight before him.

The city was in ruins. Buildings were in shambles, fire and smoke were rampant in the streets and in the fields in such a way that it caused the area to glow in the black storm clouds that painted the sky, the wall protecting her was chipped and worn, and screams and the smell of death was on the breeze. What possibly could have happened to the fair and glorious city he had seen a week ago? Surely this was an illusion? Or perhaps a mistake on his part, for this couldn't be the great city of Thebes, could it? Should he help, or should he flee while he still could? He wanted to run, is that not what he's been doing all along? Running from fate? Alas, it was logic that moved his feet; he would not make it to any other inhabited place; his need for food and drink were too great. It appeared death was in every option. So he made his way toward the broken city.

When he made it to the gates, which were scorched and pried open from outside, he paused, debating yet again. What if Hades really does come to claim him? Would death here really be better than dehydration and starvation? By the gods, he didn't even know what he's going up against! It could be a flock of Harpies, or perhaps Arachne was sent by Athena to destroy the city, or a Sphynx, or Empousai have been unleashed into the world of the living and Thebes was merely their first stop, or-

"Who dares approach _MY_ kingdom?" The voice was distinctly of a woman, eerie and dead, and chilled Oedipus to the bone. Focusing his sight to once again to the wrecked gate, he noticed a pair of eyes that were not there when he arrived. They were cold, dead, and besides a cat's eye pupil, were constantly changing, from gold to red, to green, to blue, to grey, to black, to amber, and so on until every eye colour under the sun had been represented as the being moved. As it stalked towards him, Oedipus saw more of it's face. Its eyes had been peeled back and were wide with morbid excitement, the mouth had been slit so it extended to her cheekbones with human teeth sharpened to deadly points, like those of a great man-eating fish that guards Poseidon's throne. It's once-brown hair framed it's fair, youthful face, knotted and matted with blood and other unmentionables. Yet still farther into Apollo's light it walked, revealing an old lady's bosom that dragged across the ground, and a lion's body full of dirty, mangy once-golden fur, four sets of claws that glittered red in the sunlight and filthy white wings, large and shabby with clumps if feathers missing. And twas not just its claws that were coloured, but its whole lower face, chest and fore paws seemed to drip red, with the upper head merely smeared. Glancing behind it, Oedipus noticed it's tail hovering above the ground, flickering in and out of sight, and glittering red footprints that gave the man no question as to what it was.

The monster came to a stop mere inches away from Oedipus's face, of whom was too terrified to run. The stench of death and decay that came with it made him gag.

"Well?" Oedipus fell to knees and vomited fiercely, as on its breath the reek of death and decay multiplied hundred-fold, while the freak watched in unimpressed amusement.

"What... what are you?" Oedipus gasped out, unable to say more.

"I, am Alecta, a sphinx of the Underworld. And you are?" She hissed.

"Oedipus, son of Polybus. King of Corinth." He choked out, standing up after creating several feet of distance between them.

"Ah! A _prince_! _Forgive_ me, I knew not of who I was in the presence of." It said, bowing low in mock respect.

"Enough games! Why are you here! Be gone! Go back from whence you came!"

"Ah, ah, ah," It said. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Prince-y. You must answer a riddle to be rid of me. And if you answer incorrectly... I EAT YOU. Along with everyone else that tried." It's radical smile stretching even farther in it's glee.

"...Very well." He agreed. "What's this riddle you speak of?" It grinned far to much to be possible, before speaking ominously.

" _What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?"_

Oedipus balked. The riddle itself was familiar, but for the life of him he couldn't remember the answer. Oedipus rummaged through his memories, trying to find where he's heard it before, and hopefully the answer. It wasn't his parents... nor his uncles... his friends from his childhood had no interest in such things... was it... it could be... yes, the court jester! He always told such riddles and jokes!

"Well?" It hissed. Raising his gaze from the ground, Oedipus stumbled back when he realized that instead of multiple feet between them, now were only few.

"Wait! For just a moment longer!" He cried, then went back to his pondering. The jester had said something about a cane... and an infant... and a man... wait...

"Man." Oedipus whispered.

"What?" The Sphinx gasped.

"Man," Oedipus repeated. "Man goes from crawling as an infant, to walking as an adult, to walking with a cane as an elder. "Man", is the answer you're looking for, beast."

"NO! No, no, no, no! It's not possible! No one has been able to answer me! NO!" It lunged at the man, claws out and ready. Oedipus braced himself and prayed to the gods, before feeling the slightest breeze. Opening his eyes, Oedipus watched as the Sphinx tried in vain to give him death, but her being went right through his, like an apparition, or a mirage in the desert.

Gaining courage, Oedipus ordered with as much authority as he could muster, "Leave, servant of Hades! Begone of this place!" With a shrill scream the Sphinx sprinted back into the city, and Oedipus desperately ran after it in the hopes he could stop it from any more disaster fruitlessly trying to ignore the devastation the monster had caused. He chased it to a large chapel, where it flew up the highest steeple, cried it's anguish, and jumped, screaming as it fell. It crashed into the earth where it buckled, like massive waves in the sea. The silence that followed was deafening.

King Laius stood at his bedroom windows in awe; he had seen everything that had taken place. Snapping up of his daze, he ran out of his double doors screaming, "Guards! Guards!" As his soldiers ran to him he told them, "With me! The Sphinx has been vanquished! The man who Apollo has sent to save us is waiting! Come!" With that the king and a dozen of his royal guard scurried through the doors and into the city.

Oedipus, who had taken a few minutes to compute what had just happened, stared mutely at the place the Sphinx had disappeared to, before raising his head to the sound of many running feet. There was a weird silence as the king and traveller regarded each other before blurting "You!" at the exact same time. "I mean, Your Highness, how? I mean, when...?" The king merely laughed and grabbed Oedipus's face in both hands.

"Explanations will come, along with many tales, and, by Dionysus's blessing, much wine." King Laius paused. "You know, I never did catch your name."

Taking a deep breath, and still dazed and confused, Oedipus looked the king in the eye, "Oedipus, my lord."

The king smiled. "Well Oedipus, my friend, come, let's get some food and drink in you." With that, King Laius draped his arm around Oedipus's shoulders and led him towards the castle.

Over the next few days the city began to rebuild itself, the nights were filled with grief, merry-making, and tales, and Oedipus was named next in line to the throne, as the royal couple had no surviving children, and Creon, brother to the queen, had passed defending his king and city during the Sphinx's reign of terror. And, last but certainly not least, Oedipus found Calista.

 **~O~ 9 years later ~O~**

 _Many years had passed since the attack of the Sphinx. Precisely one year after he proposed and married Calista, his true love, and a year after that twin boys were born; Eteocles and Polynices. Only a mere year after that did Oedipus know the king before he passed from grief after Jocasta, his wife and queen, died of an illness. For four and a half years did Oedipus and Calista reign, before little Ismene is born. Another year and a half passed before little Antigone is born..._

Oedipus attempted to soothe the small, newborn bundle in his arms as she fussed, which was proving to be futile. At the creak of the old wooden doors, he looked up to meet the faces of the rest of his children.

"Come quietly, for your mother and baby sister sleeps." He whispered, using his head to beckon them forward. The children walked in as quickly as their sister's tiny steps would allow (the twins had guided her in, each of her hands in one of theirs) before the boys wordlessly helped their sister in the bed where Oedipus was propped up and Calista slept, before carefully climbing on themselves.

"Bay-be" Ismene babbled sweetly.

"Yes, child, this your baby sister." Then to all of them he said, "My dearest children, my precious gifts that the Gods have blessed me with, this is your newest sibling. I want all of you to greet warmly, little Antigone."

 **N** **ames and Definitions**

 **Alecta** ~ "Alecta is most likely a variant of Alecto. Alecto originates in Greek language and means "ceaseless". In Greek mythology, Alecto was one of the Erinyes, the infernal goddesses. She was in charge of punishing moral crimes."

 **Apollo** ~ "God of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, manly beauty, archery, and the sun. He is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis... Apollo was depicted as a very handsome, beardless young man with long hair and an ideal physique."

 **Arachne** ~ "A half-spider half-female, she is the mother of all spiders. She was made into that by Athena."

 **Calista** ~ "Calista originates in Greek language and means "woman of most beauty". It probably refers to Callisto, a nymph of Artemis in Greek mythology. It could also be a feminine form of the masculine name Callistus."

 **Dionysus** ~ "God of wine, parties and festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, drugs, and ecstasy... He was depicted in art as either an older bearded god or a pretty effeminate, long-haired youth."

 **Empousai** ~ "Seductive female vampire demons with fiery hair, a leg of bronze and a donkey's foot. They are especially good at ensnaring men with their beauty before devouring them."

 **Hades** ~ "King of the underworld and the dead, and god of regret... His attributes are the drinking horn or cornucopia, key, sceptre, and the three-headed dog Cerberus. He was one of three sons of Cronus and Rhea, and thus sovereign over one of the three realms of the universe, the underworld."

 **Harpies** ~ "Creature with torso, head and arms of women, talons, tail and wings (mixed with the arms) of bird."

 **P** **oseidon** ~ "God of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, and earthquakes... He rules one of the three realms of the universe as king of the sea and the waters. In classical artwork, he was depicted as a mature man of sturdy build with an often luxuriant beard, and holding a trident."

 **Sphynx** ~ "Has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman." "The ancient Greeks saw the sphinx as a more troublesome creature... the creature was born from the Chimaera (a fire-breathing monster with three heads and a body part lion, goat, snake and dragon) and was sister to the Nemean lion and half-sister of Kerberos (the three-headed dog that guarded Hades)."


End file.
